Images of desperate Afghans, ready to risk their lives to flee the Taliban by clinging to planes about to take off at Kabul airport, reverberated as far afield as Longueuil on Monday, as Canadian Liberal Party leader and outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was doing so. One of his first campaigns was discontinued.

We’ve all been touched by the images of despair we’ve seen since yesterdayJustin Trudeau initially said during his press conference.

The Liberal Leader of the South Shore was with Sherry Romanado, the liberal candidate in Longueuil-Charles-LeMoyne, and Pascale St-Onge, the candidate in Brome-Missisquoi, to announce the extension of financial aid measures to the tourism and culture sectors, which have suffered greatly from the pandemic.

But the situation in Afghanistan, which fell into the hands of the Taliban in a lightning advance that lasted about ten days while the withdrawal of US forces was not completed, drew attention on Monday.

Like all Canadians, I was horrified by these scenes that we saw at the Kabul airport, this desperation we see among the people who, for many, were there to help Canadians. […] It’s a broken heart.

Mr. Trudeau noted that Canada has committed to accepting 20,000 Afghan refugees and their families. So far, he said, at least 807 Afghans have been evacuated.

More details will follow.